Chancellor uses Treasury select committee to announce support for immigration system that accepts need for foreign high-skilled workers

Philip Hammond has sought to allay fears that the economy will be sacrificed in Brexit negotiations, with support for foreign high-skilled workers, the expectation of a favourable deal for the City and a staunch defence of the Bank of England’s independence.

The chancellor, burnishing his credentials as an opponent of a hard Brexit, was hopeful a deal was possible that allowed all European nationals to remain in the UK and for UK nationals to remain in the EU.